Use of text editors has become quite common in conventional computer applications. One reason for such a broad acceptance of text editors is the convenience afforded by their use. For example, via use of a window-based application such as a text editor, a computer user can open a “window” on a computer screen and modify the contents of a file such as a text-based document displayed in a respective window. Typically, text editors enable a user to select text in a document and thereafter apply text editing or formatting commands such as bolding, italicizing, underlining, sizing of text. One way of initiating commands on selected text in a document is to select a command from a pull-down menu to be applied to the selected text.
In addition to standard text editors that enable editing of purely text-based documents, conventional editors have evolved to enable a user to edit other types of documents as well. For example, conventional XML (Extensible Markup Language) editors have been developed to enable a user to view and modify contents of an XML-based document.
In general, XML is a powerful language for formatting web information. HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is also a language enabling a user to create web pages based on use of predefined tags that indicate how text appears in a web page. However, XML is more powerful than HTML because XML allows users to define their own tags. The tags in XML enable definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and organizations. Consequently, via use of tags, data can be structured according to formal criteria (such as header, body, text, etc.) as well as by referring to its content. In other words, a tag is a command inserted in the document identifying how a portion of the document will be formatted when later displayed in a browser page.